Legal claims defining the scope of protection. Each claim is shown in both the original legal language and a plain English translation.
1. A computing system comprising: a communication interface operable to receive flight data for a plurality of aerial vehicles in an airborne network; and a control system that is configured to: use a ground-station database that comprises location data for a plurality of ground stations, to determine location information for a given ground station, wherein the given ground station is configurable to provide a backhaul link to the airborne network; based at least in part on (a) the location information for the given ground station and (b) at least some of the received flight data, select a flight with which the given ground station should establish a backhaul link to the airborne network; and generate a link-assignment message that facilitates establishment of a backhaul link between the given ground station and the airborne network via an aerial vehicle carrying out the selected flight.
A computing system automatically assigns ground stations to aerial vehicles (like drones or balloons) to create a backhaul link to an airborne network. It has a communication interface that receives flight data (location, speed, etc.) from the aerial vehicles. A control system uses a database of ground station locations. For a specific ground station, the system finds its location and then selects the best aerial vehicle flight to connect with, based on the ground station's location and the aerial vehicle flight data. The system then sends a message to the ground station with instructions on how to establish the backhaul link with the selected aerial vehicle.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of aerial vehicles comprise a plurality of balloons.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the previous claim uses a fleet of balloons as the aerial vehicles forming the airborne network. The system matches ground stations to the location and availability of the balloons to provide the backhaul link.
3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the plurality of balloons comprise a plurality of high-altitude balloons.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system which uses a fleet of balloons to form the airborne network, as described in the previous claim, specifically utilizes high-altitude balloons as the aerial vehicles forming the airborne network. The system matches ground stations to the location and availability of these high-altitude balloons to provide the backhaul link.
4. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a flight-data subscriber module, wherein the flight-data subscriber module is configured to operate the communication interface to receive to a flight-data feed that provides the flight data for the plurality of aerial vehicles in an airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim includes a flight-data subscriber module. This module constantly receives a stream of flight data from the aerial vehicles in the airborne network via the communication interface. This allows the system to have up-to-date information for assigning ground stations to aerial vehicles.
5. The system of claim 4 , wherein the flight-data subscriber module is further configured to update a central database based on the received flight data.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system includes a flight-data subscriber module that receives flight data, as described in the previous claim. Additionally, the flight-data subscriber module updates a central database with the newly received flight data. This ensures that the system's central database always contains the most current information on aerial vehicle locations and status.
6. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a first matching-service module, wherein the first matching-service module provides an interface for ground stations to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim includes a first matching-service module. This module provides an interface that allows ground stations to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system. Ground stations can use this interface to request connections and report their status.
7. The system of claim 6 , further comprising a second matching-service module, wherein the first matching-service module provides an interface for ground stations of a first type to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system, and wherein the second matching-service module provides an interface for ground stations of a second type to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the previous claim includes both a first and a second matching-service module. The first module is for ground stations of one type, while the second module is for ground stations of a different type. This allows the system to support different communication protocols or capabilities for different ground station hardware or operators.
8. The system of claim 7 , wherein the first matching-service module supports one more of the following communication types for ground stations: (a) a status message comprising status information related to a ground station, (b) a match request to request an assignment of a flight with which to establish a backhaul link to the airborne network, and (c) a manual override message to override an assignment by the backhaul link assignment system.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system includes a first matching-service module. As described in the previous claim, the first matching-service module supports communication from ground stations of a first type. This module accepts these types of communications: (a) status updates from the ground station, (b) requests to be assigned to a specific flight for establishing a backhaul link, and (c) manual override messages to cancel or change an automatically assigned backhaul link.
9. The system of claim 7 , wherein the second matching-service module supports one more of the following communication types for ground stations: (a) a status message comprising status information related to a ground station, (b) a match request to request an assignment of a flight with which to establish a backhaul link to the airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system includes a second matching-service module. As described in the previous claims, the second matching-service module supports communication from ground stations of a second type. This module accepts these types of communications: (a) status updates from the ground station, and (b) requests to be assigned to a specific flight for establishing a backhaul link.
10. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a private matching-service module and a public matching-service module, wherein the private matching-service module provides an interface for ground stations that are operated by the operator of the airborne network to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system, and wherein the public matching-service module provides an interface for third-party ground stations to communicate with the backhaul link assignment system.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim has a private matching-service module and a public matching-service module. The private module is used by ground stations that are operated by the same organization that runs the airborne network. The public module is used by third-party ground stations. This separation allows for different levels of access and control.
11. The system of claim 10 , wherein the public matching-service module operates as a proxy for the private matching-service module.
In the ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system with private and public matching-service modules as described in the previous claim, the public matching-service module acts as a proxy. The third-party ground stations connect to the public matching service which then forwards requests to the private matching service. This configuration can be used for security or rate-limiting purposes.
12. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a central database, wherein the central database comprises: (a) the ground station database that comprises the data entries for the plurality of ground stations, and (b) a flight database that comprises the flight data for the plurality of aerial vehicles.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim includes a central database. This database contains two key sets of data: (a) location information for all the ground stations and (b) flight data for all the aerial vehicles in the airborne network. This centralized database allows the system to make informed decisions about assigning backhaul links.
13. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in order to select the flight with which the given ground station should establish a backhaul link, the control system is operable to: determine, from the flight data, trajectory information for one or more of the aerial vehicles; and use the determined trajectory information as a further basis to select at least one aerial vehicle as the target for the backhaul link between the at least one ground station and the airborne network.
To select the best flight for a ground station, the ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim determines trajectory information for the aerial vehicles from the flight data. It then uses this trajectory information, along with the ground station location, to select the optimal aerial vehicle. The predicted path of the aerial vehicle becomes a factor in the selection process.
14. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in order to select the flight with which the given ground station should establish a backhaul link, the control system is operable to: determine link capacity information corresponding to one or more of the aerial vehicles; and use the determined link capacity information as a further basis to select at least one aerial vehicle as the target for the backhaul link between the at least one ground station and the airborne network.
To select the best flight for a ground station, the ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim determines the link capacity of the aerial vehicles. The system factors the available bandwidth or data throughput of each aerial vehicle when selecting the optimal flight for a given ground station.
15. The system of claim 1 , wherein, in order to select the flight with which the given ground station should establish a backhaul link, the control system is operable to: determine a measure of demand for backhaul resources corresponding to the at least one ground station; and use the measure of demand for backhaul resources as a further basis to select at least one aerial vehicle as the target for the backhaul link between the at least one ground station and the airborne network.
To select the best flight for a ground station, the ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment system described in the first claim assesses the ground station's backhaul resource demand. It considers factors like the amount of data the ground station needs to transmit or the number of users it serves, factoring this "demand" into the selection process to pair the ground station with an aerial vehicle that can meet its needs.
16. A method comprising: using, by a computing system, a ground-station database to determine, location information for a given ground station, wherein the given ground station is configured to provide a backhaul link to an airborne network comprising a plurality of aerial vehicles, wherein the ground-station database comprises location data for a plurality of ground stations; determining, by the computing system, flight data for two or more of the aerial vehicles in the airborne network; based at least in part on the combination of (a) the location information for the given ground station and (b) the flight data for the two or more of the aerial vehicles, the computing system selecting a flight with which the given ground station should establish a backhaul link to the airborne network; and generating a link-assignment message that facilitates establishment of a backhaul link between the given ground station and the airborne network via an aerial vehicle carrying out the selected flight.
A computing system automatically assigns ground stations to aerial vehicles (like drones or balloons) to create a backhaul link to an airborne network. The system uses a database of ground station locations to find the location of a specific ground station. It also determines flight data (location, speed, etc.) for the aerial vehicles. Based on the ground station's location and the aerial vehicle flight data, the system selects the best aerial vehicle flight to connect with. The system then sends a message to the ground station with instructions on how to establish the backhaul link with the selected aerial vehicle.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising: determining, based on the flight data, trajectory information for one or more of the aerial vehicles; and using the determined trajectory information as a further basis for selecting the flight with which the given ground station should establish the backhaul link to the airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment method described in the previous claim includes determining trajectory information for the aerial vehicles based on the flight data. This trajectory information is then used to further refine the selection of the best aerial vehicle to connect the ground station to the airborne network. The predicted path of the aerial vehicle becomes a factor in the selection process.
18. The method of claim 16 , further comprising: determining link capacity information corresponding to one or more of the aerial vehicles; and using the determined link capacity information as a further basis for selecting the flight with which the given ground station should establish the backhaul link to the airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment method described in the sixteenth claim includes determining the link capacity of the aerial vehicles. This link capacity information is then used to further refine the selection of the best aerial vehicle to connect the ground station to the airborne network.
19. The method of claim 16 , further comprising: determining a measure of demand for backhaul resources corresponding to given ground station; and using the measure of demand for backhaul resources as a further basis for selecting the flight with which the given ground station should establish the backhaul link to the airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment method described in the sixteenth claim includes determining a measure of demand for backhaul resources by the ground station. This demand measure is then used to further refine the selection of the best aerial vehicle to connect the ground station to the airborne network.
20. The method of claim 16 , further comprising: using two or more of: (a) trajectory information for one or more of the aerial vehicles, (b) link capacity information corresponding to one or more of the aerial vehicles, and (c) demand for backhaul resources, as further bases for selecting the flight with which the ground station should establish the backhaul link to the airborne network.
The ground station to aerial vehicle backhaul link assignment method described in the sixteenth claim uses multiple factors to select the best aerial vehicle. It considers trajectory information for the aerial vehicles, link capacity information for the aerial vehicles, and the demand for backhaul resources from the ground station. Combining these factors allows the system to make a more informed and optimized selection of the aerial vehicle for the backhaul link.
Unknown
December 19, 2017
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.